Woolly Mammoth
The woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), also called the tundra mammoth, was a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia. They are perhaps the most well known species of mammoth. This mammoth species was first recorded in (possibly 150,000 years old) deposits of the second last glaciation in Eurasia. It was derived from the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogonotherii). It disappeared from most of its range at the end of the Pleistocene (10,000 years ago), with an isolated population still living on Wrangel Island until roughly 1700 BC. Woolly mammoths were not noticeably larger than present-day African elephants. Fully grown mammoth bulls reached heights between 2.7 m (9 ft) and 3.2 m (10 ft) while the dwarf varieties reached between 1.8 m (5.9 ft) and 2.0 m (6.6 ft). Woolly mammoths had a number of adaptations to the cold, most famously the thick layer of shaggy hair, up to 1 meter in length, with a fine underwool, for which the woolly mammoth is named. The coats were similar to those of muskoxen, and it is likely mammoths moulted in summer. They also had far smaller ears than modern elephants; the largest mammoth ear found so far was only 30 cm (12 in) long, compared to 180 cm (71 in) for an African elephant. Their skin was no thicker than that of present-day elephants, but unlike elephants, they had numerous sebaceous glands in their skin which secreted greasy fat into their hair, improving its insulating qualities. They had a layer of fat up to 8 cm (3.1 in) thick under the skin which, like the blubber of whales, helped to keep them warm. Similar to reindeer and musk oxen, their haemoglobin was adapted to the cold, with three genetic mutations to improve oxygen delivery around the body and prevent freezing. Cave art from Les Combarelles, Woolly mammoths had extremely long tusks — up to 5 m (16 ft) long — which were markedly curved, to a much greater extent than those of elephants. It is not clear whether the tusks were a specific adaptation to their environment; mammoths may have used their tusks as shovels to clear snow from the ground and reach the vegetation buried below. This is evidenced by flat sections on the ventral surface of some tusks. It has also been observed in many specimens that there may be an amount of wear on top of the tusk that would suggest some animals had a preference as to which tusk on which they rested their trunks Battle against T Rex A herd of Woolly Mammoth are traveling through the woods unknowing that a mother T-rex is nearby and stalking the herd to feed her two babies. Suddenly a baby mammoth strays from the heard to nibble on some plants. Without warning, the T-rex lunges out at the baby mammoth but suddenly stops when a large male mammoth steps between them, trumpeting with anger. The mammoth then charges, but misses the T-rex and nearly tramples her babies. The enraged mother then lunges forward and tries to bite down on the mammoth's back but can't get a good grip with the mammoths constant thrashing. The T-rex unintentionally bites down on the mammoths tusk, but it thrashes again, breacking one of the the T-rex's teeth. The mammoth tries to retreat but the T-rex sees an opening and sinks it's teeth into the back of the mammoths neck. The mammoth trumpets in pain as it begins to go limp. Then it stops breathing, the mother T-rex and her babies then begin to feed on the mammoth. Winner: Tyrannosaurus Rex Category:Animals Category:European Animals Category:Asian Animals Category:North American Animals Category:Herbivores Category:Mammals Category:Prehistoric animals